


too late at night

by JeanSouth



Category: Free!
Genre: Future AU, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-03
Updated: 2014-08-03
Packaged: 2018-02-11 14:27:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2071731
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JeanSouth/pseuds/JeanSouth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rei goes for a long walk on a dark road and meets a similar mind.</p>
            </blockquote>





	too late at night

Rei meets Rin for the first time when it is night. Around three, if he’s right. He should be in bed, or studying, or anything that isn’t avoiding his upcoming exams. The feeling of impending failure chases him down like a dark horse.

Rin smokes. It’s bad for him but it looks cool, paired up with the worn leather jacket and the rough, scratched up pants. Behind him, a motorcycle is on its side, looking a bit worse for wear. Normally it’s a busy road, but it’s quiet this time of night.

When he approaches, he can’t think of a word to say, a question to ask. Above the cigarette, Rin’s eyes are red and tired looking; his nose is too where he’s been rubbing it, and the collar of his shirt is wet with tears. He refuses to meet Rei’s eyes, but won’t move away either.

"Are you-" Rei starts. He’s cut off by a rough sound, the sight of Rin rolling his eyes. His cigarette burns down enough to singe his hands scraped raw by the road. Driving and crying never really fit together.

"I’m never good enough," Rin spits out, bitter but sad but angry. "Not for Haru, and not for Australia, and not for Sousuke and his Olympic fucking scouting."

Rei isn’t sure who anyone is, but he understands bitterness, and fear, and inadequacy.

"I don’t think I am either," Rei admits, out loud, for the first time. "I’m scared I’ll fail this exam. I’m scared I’ll pass it, and be responsible for someone’s life and fail them, and have to live with it."

Rin looks at him like he wonders why they’re talking. Eventually he looks away, and keeps watching the skyline. People move in cars, headlights marking them. For every set of headlights, there are people walking in the dark, coming home to empty houses, and calling other cities. The sheer amount of people makes Rei feel overwhelmed; he feels like he’ll have to care for each of them.

"Do you want me to bandage your hand?" he offers as a distraction. He’s good at bandaging hands neatly, perfectly, but neat and perfect clashes with Rin, rough around the edges. He assumes Rin will go home, wash it and ignore him.

"Please," he gets instead, before Rin walks off, picks up his bike, and hesitates. He lifts the seat to offer an extra helmet to Rei. Eventually he takes it, slips it on, and rides pinion. He wraps his arms around Rin’s waist and leans on his back with trust, follows him into the turns. At the second turn, he feels Rin sigh, and reach down to touch his hand, squeeze it gently. It says a lot that they can’t put into words;

'I understand you.'

With his own sigh he leans in more and relaxes. When they hit a motorway, something tells him they’re taking the long way home. The faster they go, the more the wind rips at his clothes, cools his skin, but it feels good. It clears his headspace, enough he can understand why Rin takes the risks that come with it. He holds on a bit tighter as a truck passes them, and Rin moves over to the other side of the lane they’re in as if to comfort him. Eventually, when Rei is bone-cold, Rin takes the next exit and winds his way through three dozen sidestreets, the motor of his bike oddly not disturbing despite how large it is, how loud it is.

Eventually he stops it near a convenience store and leaves it sheltered in an alleyway, out of sight. It’s near an unlit entrance. Rin uses his phone to get the key in, and beckons for him to go first up the stairs.

Upstairs is tidier than he expected from Rin’s appearance. Everything seems to be in the right place, down to the dishes stacked in a drying rack, a tall pile of books near the couch that look well-loved and well-read. On his way past, Rin touches a hand to Rei’s arm and stops cold.

"You’re freezing," he mentions, completely obvious, then slips through a door that’s only a bit open. He comes back with a heavy, dark sweater. It’s too big on Rei; he has always had strong legs, but Rin is built like a swimmer, all shoulders and chest. It smells like Jasmine washing powder and fresh air.

"Thanks," Rei tries for a smile but it won’t come. He can’t say he’s sad, really, but he’s not happy either. He accept the first aid kit when it’s pulled out of a kitchen cupboard and offered to him. It’s basic and understocked, missing medical tape and painkillers and cleaning alcohol. "Disinfectant?"

Rin offers him a bottle of vodka from the freezer, ice cold in his hands. It’s halfway gone and printed all over with Russian letters. He helps himself to a glass and paper towels, follows to where Rin has sat and takes his hands. They seem the only thing battered by his fall where the rest was protected by leather and denim. Rin hisses at him when the alcohol touches his cuts. He has odd, sharp teeth that make Rei smile for the first time in what he feels like is an entire semester.

"What?" Rin snarls at him, but there’s no heart behind it, closer to a sulk than anything else. Outside, it rains while Rei washes off the alcohol and wraps as neatly as he can, nice and tight without restricting movement. Rin doesn’t tell him they’ll be off tomorrow, after he swims. The care and attention is nice, the way Rei looks over his glasses when he leans very, very close, and his delicate touch. He takes care to not press down on his scratches, and tucks the edge of the bandage in neatly. He feels like he could go boxing with perfectly wrapped hands.

"I think you’ll do fine," Rin offers, and wishes there was music in the room, so he could say it quiet, and let his words be swallowed up. Instead Rei pales, keeps his eyes down, and works quiet. "I don’t think you’ll never have a patient that dies. But I don’t think it’ll be your fault when one does."

Afterwards, he’s not sure who feels more awkward. Rei silently finishes his other hand and cleans up; washes the glass and puts everything in the dishrack away.

"What do you do?" he asks when he’s done, drying his hands on a red dishtowel. He briefly thinks it needs to go in the wash when he folds it neatly and puts it down.

"I swim," Rin offers, shrugs. He almost corrects himself, almost says swam with a self-deprecating laugh, then remembers it’s not funny. "Do you want to order in pizza?"

"I’d like to watch you swim," Rei answers first, determined and adds as an afterthought, "Yes."

"I have a race Friday."

"I have exams Thursday."

"So you can tell me how they go?"

Rei shrugs, sits down, and brings up a pizza delivery app. ”What toppings do you want?”


End file.
